Upper Schoolers collaborate with MITA on island cleanup

Katrina St. John’s homeroom collaborated with MITA (Maine Island Trail Association) and spent the school day collecting trash from the shoreline of Merritt Island located in the New Meadows. MITA has a handshake agreement with landowners up and down the coast of Maine that allows the public to use their property. In return, MITA acts as stewards, organizing cleanups and “island adopters” to watch over the properties. Katrina and her students scoured the coves and crevices along the shoreline to remove microplastics and large pieces of debris that had accumulated over the winter months.

Katrina has long been an advocate of giving coastal access to the public. She believes that allowing people who do not live on the water to enjoy its beauty is paramount to getting them to invest in preserving Maine’s natural beauty. She and her family are yearly “island adopters” of Merritt Island, which means that they do cleanups and check on the campsites regularly through the summer months. When the opportunity to involve her homeroom with MITA came up, she excitedly signed up her homeroom for a day of volunteer work.